Digital wallets design insights

When it comes to digital wallets, millions have turned into billions—with digital wallet users quickly increasing from 900 million to 1.48 billion between 2020-2022. And while the COVID-19 pandemic certainly expedited its growth, many experts agree that digital wallet development was already bound to happen.

No matter the industry, more and more companies are harnessing digital wallet app design to reach new audiences and boost customer experience and overall value. Yet getting the most out of these digital finance solutions starts with top-end design. Here are the top recommendations from Star’s Design experts.

4 design strategies for digital wallets

Based on indispensable examples we’ve compiled from leading companies and best practices, our digital wallet solutions can reach new heights with these four design principles:

• Easy onboarding. Since onboarding often makes or breaks an app’s user retention, this should be at the top of the checklist for any digital wallet product. Remember that consumers make the rules here – so your onboarding experience must be frictionless, simple and user-friendly. So what does this look like? Paypal’s digital wallet app design includes just 9 easy steps for onboarding with each frame cuing users with clear navigation and content flow. In a different vein, Revolut uses storytelling tools that guide users before onboarding even begins. The key here is integrating features that will give your app an edge over others, and this can include devising an easy way in the UI and UX to take photos in-app of the required documents and even same-day approval for different functions and services within your product.

• Go beyond wallet functionality. These days, making a digital wallet relevant beyond its basic financial purpose is essential. That means directly connecting your wallet product with other lifestyle services and brands. In the design sense, the best way to anticipate the specific needs of your audience is through customer journey mapping, or CJM, which uncovers behavioral drivers and facilitates companies in thinking beyond their sales funnel basics. This is a five-phase circular process that can apply to virtually any product or service. When applied within the FinTech ecosystem, the biggest priority is always the ability to make things faster, simpler and stress-free for users while still adhering to financial institutional regulation and security standards.

• Built-in trust. Getting users to start building trust with a product, especially with a new brand or service, is difficult but vital for any digital wallet development. Transparent communication via UX and UI product design is the way forward. Again, these design tips focus heavily on removing friction in the UX design, making your products relatable and transparent, as well as prioritizing cutting-edge security that users can trust. In a landmark episode of Shine: a podcast by Star, experts from Star, Paidy, and Onfido share their insights on how to best harness the power of design to build and strengthen trust and enduring customer loyalty.

• Create magnetic experiences. To achieve the highest engagement from users, there are many great design features that can transform your digital wallet app design. Some of the best options: use vector graphics to visualize data; include gamified elements like progress displays, badges and rewards that make your app stand out and encourage users to come back to the app again; and create a UX design strategy that takes both short-term and long-term applications into consideration. This could involve anything such as being able to invest and save from a singular app.

Future-proof your next wallet design

Within digital wallets, the global market share remains massive. Yet in order to reap the most rewards for any digital product, a holistic and collaborative approach is essential. On any continent, Star brings this cross-industry methodology to co-create with clients on anything from FinTech consulting services to design and engineering consultancy. Jumpstart your journey and bring to life your digital wallet innovation today.